1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the field of exercise and therapeutic machines. More particularly, the present invention relates to the field of exercise and therapeutic machines for head loading and in particular, vertical or axial loading to strengthen a person's spine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many people in our society have serious back disorders due to a lack of physical conditioning. Back disorders are caused by one or a combination of the following reasons: poor posture, use of improper body mechanics, stress, lack of proper exercise, poor health, etc. However, with proper exercise and conditioning, the risk of such injury can be reduced, if not eliminated altogether, by gradually stretching and positioning of the spine to relieve pain and realign the individual vertebrae. Effective exercise provides increased endurance and eliminates muscular problems and range of motion problems.
The following ten (10) prior art patents are found to be pertinent to the field of the present invention:
1. U.S. Pat. No. 4,528,990 issued to Knowles on Jul. 16, 1985 for "Apparatus For Measuring Head And Spine Movement" (hereafter the "Knowles Patent"); PA1 2. U.S. Pat. No. 4,669,106 issued to Ammerman on May 26, 1987 for "Apparatus For Aiding In Cervical Spine Radiographic Production" (hereafter the "Ammerman Patent"); PA1 3. U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,249 issued to Marras et al. on Mar. 10, 1992 for "Apparatus For Monitoring The Motion Of The Lumbar Spine" (hereafter the "Marras Patent"); PA1 4. U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,835 issued to DelRe on Apr. 7, 1992 for "Method And Apparatus For Testing A Spine" (hereafter the "DelRe Patent"); PA1 5. U.S. Pat. No. 5,336,138 issued to Aijawat on Aug. 9, 1994 for "Head, Neck, And Shoulder Exercise Machine" (hereafter the "Arjawat Patent"); PA1 6. U.S. Pat. No. 5,336,139 issued to Miller on Aug. 9, 1994 for "Isotonic Cervical Exercise Device" (hereafter the "Miller Patent"); PA1 7. U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,086 issued to McCormick et al. on Dec. 12, 1995 for "Apparatus For Monitoring The Motion Of The Lumbar Spine" (hereafter the "McCormick Patent"); PA1 8. U.S. Pat. No. 5,549,534 issued to Parviainen on Aug. 27, 1996 for "Spine Rehabilitation Apparatus" (hereafter the "Parviainen Patent"); PA1 9. U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,941 issued to Scott on Dec. 31, 1996 "Spine Therapy And Exercise Device" (hereafter the "Scott Patent"); and PA1 10. European Patent No. 295,804 issued to Jones for "Method And Apparatus For Testing Or Exercising Muscles Of The Lower Trunk Of The Human Body" (hereafter the "Jones Patent").
The Knowles Patent discloses a head-mounted apparatus for measuring head and spine movement about a substantially vertical axis, and also capable of indicating spine or head tilting. It comprises a head band which is firmly affixed to the head. The head band has an indicia scale used in conjunction with a body reference indicator whereby the indicator is maintained stationary while the spine or head is rotated such that the relationship between the indicator and indicia scale represents the rotated body movement.
The Ammerman Patent discloses an apparatus for aiding in cervical spine radiographic production. The apparatus is used for repositioning shoulders of a prone patient at a displaced position to facilitate the obtaining of an unobstructive lateral radiograph of all seven vertebrae of the cervical section of the spine.
The Marras Patent discloses an apparatus for monitoring the motion of the lumbar spine during flexion and extension in each of several sagittal-frontal planes of the body, as well as during movement into the transverse plane. The apparatus comprises a rotatable platform upon which the patient is adapted to stand, and the platform is pivotable about a vertical axis, so that the platform may be pivoted to a selected angle and locked in position. A pelvic stabilization belt is mounted to the platform, and an overhead frame member is provided for rotation about a horizontal axis which is adapted to pass through the lumbro-sacral junction of the patient. An upper body yoke is mounted to the overhead frame member for rotation about a vertical axis which is perpendicular to the horizontal axis.
The DelRe Patent discloses a method and apparatus for testing a spine. It comprises a spinal contact member which contacts a disc under a low force to obtain the position of the contact member with the disc in its normal or usual unstressed position. The same disc is contacted with the contact member under an elevated increased standard force to obtain a second position of the contact member.
The Arjawat Patent discloses a head, neck, and shoulder exercise machine for exercising the cervical spine and muscles associated with the cervical spine. The machine includes a head frame which receives a person's head and a main frame which can receive a person in a seated position. A ball joint is provided for allowing relative movement of the head frame with respect to the main frame, with the ball joint positionable such that it can be located adjacent a desired location along the person's cervical thoracic junction.
The Miller Patent discloses an isotonic cervical exercise device for exercising the muscles surrounding the cervical spine of a person. It comprises a belt adapted to be secured about the waist of a person and includes frontal and posterior portions. It further comprises a chin cup adapted to fit around a person's chin, and a head band which is adapted to fit around the person's head and includes frontal and posterior portions. A first elastic strap is adapted to apply tensile loads between a right frontal portion of the chin cup, diagonally across the person's head, and the posterior portion of the belt. A second elastic strap is adapted to apply tensile loads between a left frontal portion of the chin cup, diagonally across the person's head, and the posterior portion of the belt. A third elastic strap is adapted to apply tensile loads between the front of the chin cup and the front of the belt. A fourth elastic strap is adapted to apply tensile loads between the frontal portion of the head band, backwards across the person's head, and the posterior portion of the belt.
The McCormick Patent discloses an apparatus for monitoring the motion of the lumbar spine. It comprises a rotatable platform upon which the patient is adapted to stand, and the platform pivotable about a vertical axis, so that the platform may be pivoted to a selected angle and held in the selected position. There is provided a lever arm which is rotatable about a horizontal axis which is adapted to pass through the lumbro-sacral junction of the patient, and a first upper body engaging member is releasably mounted to the lever arm. A first computer controlled drive motor pivotally rotates the lever arm in opposite directions with a predetermined program. An overhead frame assembly is also mounted for rotation about the horizontal axis, and a second upper body engaging member is mounted to the overhead frame assembly for rotation about a generally vertical axis which is perpendicular to the horizontal axis.
The Parviainen Patent discloses a spine rehabilitation apparatus. It comprises a frame having a vertical part, an inclined part, and a counter-force device on the vertical part. The frame has an operating linkage with a pivot axle, and a support adapted to rest against the upper body region of the user. The operating linkage is rotatable about the pivot axle; a seat part is on the inclined part of the frame; and below the pivot axle and the support and is adjustably positioned on the inclined part of the frame.
The Scott Patent discloses a spine therapy and exercise device. It comprises a belt member and a harness. The harness is carried by the belt member and is provided for receiving the arms of the wearer.
The Jones Patent discloses a method and apparatus for exercising or testing the strength of muscles in the lower trunk of the body. The patient is seated with his pelvis and legs fixed against movement and with his head, arms and upper back fixed relative to a movement arm which extends above the seat and is mounted for pivotal movement relative to the seat about a horizontal axis. While the movement arm is in a predetermined position, the patient applies a force through the upper back to the movement arm to stress the muscles of the lower trunk, and the strength of these muscles is measured. To exercise these muscles, the movement arm is moved by a force exerted by the upper back against a bias of a resistance weight to lift the weight, and then the force is released to lower the weight and the process is repeated.
None of the above patents have utilized an axial compression of the spine through head loading. It is desirable to provide a very efficient and also very effective design and construction of an axial or vertical loading apparatus for strengthening the bony structures of the spine and the supporting structures of the spine such as discs, ligaments and muscles without causing any range of motion at all. It is also desirable to provide an axial loading apparatus whereby the apparatus is safely secured to the user's head and easily removed when the exercise is completed. It is further desirable to provide an axial loading apparatus which can apply a compressive force on the user's head which will in turn translate directly to the user's vertebral bodies that is realigned with the top of the user's head, wherein the compressive force serves to strengthen the body, ligamentous and muscular structures of the spine.